NAME DROPPING

Caine became interested in South Florida when he filmed Blood and Wine here last year, and he recently purchased a four-bedroom condo near South Beach. This will give the 64-year-old actor a winter retreat from his native England and enable him to keep tabs on his new restaurant, the South Beach Brasserie on Lincoln Road Mall.

Lauren Hutton seems to do a lot of Florida-based advertising. Surely she can't need the money?

Still stunning at 53, the gap-toothed Hutton has fond memories of growing up in a "magical place" called Tampa. And no, she doesn't need the money. She was the first model in history to negotiate a long-term contract and during her heyday received $200,000 a year from Revlon for just 30 days' work. The epitome of the self-sufficient woman, Hutton has never married but is in a long-term relationship with Italian-born filmmaker Luca Babini, 11 years her junior. Her current "magical places" include an apartment in New York and a 300-acre hideaway in the New Mexico mountains.

I've heard that my favorite comic, Drew Carey, is going on a diet. What will happen to his show without those hilarious "fat" jokes?

The 218-pound star of TV's most unlikely hit series is planning to drop a few pounds for health's sake but promises that his brash brand of fat-and-flatulence humor will survive. "They'll pad me, if necessary," says the crew-cut ex-Marine, whose numerous bouts with depression have included two "half-hearted" attempts at suicide. Now 39, Carey's bad days finally seem to be behind him. He not only has a popular sitcom but recently signed a $3 million contract for his first book.

Please settle a bet. Is Jimmy Smits Mexican or Cuban?

Neither. The actor's sailor father is of Dutch heritage, and his mother, a nurse, is Puerto Rican. Smits, 41, joined his high school's drama class, figuring it was a way to meet girls. He got the girls, but he caught the acting bug, too. After a stint on a TV soap, he found stardom as attorney Victor Sifuentes in NBC's L.A. Law, for which he received an Emmy in 1990. The actor still has a link to the soaps, however: Smits' long-time love is actress Wanda De Jesus, who starred in NBCs Santa Barbara.

Who is the Florida guy that supermodel Cindy Crawford is dating?

Model-turned-businessman Rande Gerber, 35, is the mastermind behind the celebrity-studded Whiskey Bars in Los Angeles and the Armani Cafes in New York. This hardly makes him a Floridian, though his latest venture is a couple of chic new bars at the Delano hotel on South Beach. Gerber refuses to discuss his relationship with Crawford, 31, but it was recently reported that the couple had bought a house together on Long Island, N.Y.

Comedy actress Lisa Kudrow always plays a ditz. Is she one in real life?

Vassar graduate Lisa wanted to be a doctor like her dad, an expert on migraine headaches. But she discovered a flair for humor when she joined an L.A. comedy group, and this led to cameos on Cheers, Coach and Newhart. Full-time roles as the witless waitress on Mad About You and the feckless Phoebe on Friends followed. It's a long way from curing headaches, but Lisa is laughing all the way to the bank -- she now receives a very unditzy $100,000 per episode of Friends.

After serving four months and nine days for statutory rape, Buttafuoco was released three years ago. Now 41, the former auto mechanic was recently spotted working as a doorman at a club on Hollywoods Sunset Strip. Meanwhile, his teen-age mistress, a grown-up 23, becomes eligible for parole this year after serving five years of her 5-to-15 year sentence for attempted murder.

Vital Stats

Kristi Krueger

Birthday: May 16.

Birthplace: Fresno, Calif.

Current home: Pembroke Pines.

Occupation: News anchor for WPLG-TV, Channel 10.

Marital status: Married nine years to Todd Templin, a WPLG editor.

Children: Troy, 5, Kelsie, 2.

Car: A Chevy minivan.

Working on: A follow-up to a health investigation I did in May.

The last good movie I saw: Jerry Maguire.

The book I've been reading: Discipline Without Shouting or Spanking by Jerry Wyckoff.

Favorite pigout food: Pizza.

Favorite performer: Barney. I don't get out much.

Favorite childhood memory: Going to college and pro football games. My father was a coach.